St Eustatias - Morning Glory

In 1884, a Dutch botanist, Willem Suringar, visited Statia, and collected a morning glory in fruit on Signal Hill which was described as new to science. Named Ipomoea sphenophylla (wedge shaped leafed Ipomoea), it was not found by subsequent visiting botanists so the species was put first on the endangered list and then declared extinct.

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However, in 1994, a vine in the tree tops was found by Edwin Gawlik on the property of Statia Terminals which is believed to be the same pink-flowered morning glory. The area has been closed off and the plant will be protected. The same habitat is also home to a rare iguana and several orchids.

Specimens of the plant are being studied in the USA, where it has been noted that the flowers are unusual in having many with free petals, a character not known in Ipomoea, while the insects that have been seen to visit and pollinate the flowers on Statia are not those usually associated with tubular flowers.